Borini, however, also admitted his side need to try to perform as well in every game as they did in this one.

“We gave it everything today, it was obviously a special game, but we need to show that every game is as special to us as this game. We won this game and hopefully we'll get a few wins now,” he added.

“If we play like we played today with a little bit more calm on the ball we can really improve our game.”

Borini, whose winner came after Newcastle defender Mathieu Debuchy had cancelled out Steven Fletcher's early opener for the Black Cats, also hailed the impact of Poyet.

The Italy international said: “Lots of the work we've done is because of him.

“He came in and gave us the enjoyment we needed and obviously the football. So now it'll take a little bit of time to improve again, but that's a great first step.”

Sunderland boss Poyet, who replaced Paolo Di Canio in the hotseat earlier this month, was understandably thrilled with the win and believes it will be a big relief to the players to have finally got their season up and running.

“I'm sure that at least for the next few days the fans will be delighted, and the players are going to be relieved because we needed this win,” he said.

“I think everything about today is big. It's the first win which is key -- you need to start winning games - it was against your biggest rivals, in my first home game... Sometimes it's not about playing well in these games, it's about winning.”

Poyet also felt everything was “spot on” for his side, not least the stunning impact of substitute Borini.

“The players we put on the pitch gave everything and then there was a moment when we needed to take a risk and go for the game, and what a goal to win the game and what a time to score. Everything was spot on,” he said.

He added of the deciding goal: “I enjoyed that but when I saw the four minutes of extra time I almost had a heart attack, but nothing is going to be easy for us, everything is about effort.”

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew felt Sunderland should not have been awarded a free kick in the build-up to their winning goal and described Poyet as “very fortunate” to have won his first home match in charge.

He said: “The free kick wasn't a free kick and Cheick's [Tiote] out of position, and Yohan (Cabaye) misses cutting out the pass and then we're open a little bit.

“We've only made two or three errors in that second half, and I think that was the only shot they've had or the only chance they've had.”

On whether Sunderland having a new manager in charge had an influence on the game, Pardew said: “It's obviously going to give a new feeling to the group and that type of victory is the sort of victory you want when you come in as a manager.